Voter poll pulls losing numbers for Corbett's lotto plan

A Daily News/Franklin & Marshall College Poll released Thursday shows that registered voters strongly oppose Corbett's plan to privatize the Pennsylvania Lottery and don't like the way he's pursuing that goal.

And, as with a long-running series of polls, Corbett's job approval numbers are anemic as he turns toward a campaign for a second term in 2014.

Sixty-four percent of the voters polled said they oppose his plan to turn over control of the lottery to a British company, Camelot Global Services. Just 18 percent support the idea, which Corbett announced Jan. 11. Nearly one in five voters, 18 percent, didn't have an opinion.

Corbett has decided that his administration has the authority to strike the lottery deal without approval from the Legislature. Voters in the poll reject that too: 84 percent said the plan should require legislative approval; 10 percent said it should not.

G. Terry Madonna, the poll's director, said he expected to find voters opposed to the lottery plan. But the numbers were "stunning," Madonna said.

"I don't think he's going to change his mind because of what the poll shows," Madonna said of Corbett. "I do think it may cause lawmakers to raise questions."

Corbett's plan has run into resistance in the Legislature - even from fellow Republicans.

The union that represents state lottery workers has joined some legislators in petitioning for review with the state Commonwealth Court, claiming that Corbett's plan violates the state Constitution and the 1971 law that created the lottery.

The poll showed a majority of voters, 53 percent, continue to support privatizing the state's liquor store system, another Corbett goal. That requires legislative approval, something previous Republican governors have been unable to secure.

Corbett's job-approval numbers continue to lag, as Democrats and at least one Republican consider 2014 challenges against him. Just 2 percent of voters say he is doing an excellent job, 24 percent say he's doing a good job, 41 percent say he's doing only a fair job and 26 percent say he's doing a poor job.

Six percent had no opinion.

Also in the poll:

* 87 percent support background checks for all gun sales, 55 percent support a ban on the sale of "assault weapons" and 53 percent support a ban on high-capacity ammunition magazines.

* 52 percent support gay marriage.

* 55 percent say marijuana possession and use should not be legalized, but 82 percent support use of the drug for medical purposes with a doctor's approval.